Usually in a transition area, on the phone, you should be able to get to the person at the city/county who handles issuance of permits for building and remodeling can tell you a bunch about activity in a neighborhood.  

Great idea, just as long as the house would cash flow after the cash out refinance, ALL expenses are conservatively estimated, and you keep some cash reserves to handle any unexpected capex, vacancy, etc.

In my opinion, the way I handled it was I took the people around and found them a house that they "loved".

I do carry a property manager though which handles most all of the issues that I run into. 

As far as tracking we handled it all through a google sheet just cause the volume was low. 

During your screening process pay close attention to how they will handle maintenance.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but in NY and NJ, the RE Agent typically does initial negotiation and from there both parties hire attorneys to draft the Sales Contract and handle closing. 

You'll need an "expert" to evaluate it and an attorney to handle the solution.Call your Realtor EVERY night until this is fixed. 

hi there I have been in real estate for a few years now but have never had this problem come up and kinda wondering how to handle the situation.  

Are they willing to answer questions you have such as vacancy rate in the area, how they handle repairs, etc.